Transatlantic Supergroup Forms

Bill, Angela and Darryl (BAD) have been friends of this blog from its beginnings back in 2006. Now they have merged their unique talents to form AdVerve, which already existed, but now includes Darryl, who just left the agency he founded, Humongo, to join Carrot. Bill and Angela have shelved their old blogs while the one Darryl started will be carried on by the good folks of Humongo, whom I get to work with from time to time on various projects. It's all slightly confusing. The ad blog world is a little shaken, bewildered, confused and nervous right now. What does it all mean? It's like if your brother married your sister or something, but not gross like that. Bad example.

All I know is that these three bloggers are truly decent people who have been very kind to me in the five years I've known them. I trust that whatever comes of this, it'll be good. 

You Didn't Think of This

And they did. Which makes them pretty damn smart.

Plaid Nation is back in gear, this time on a West Coast tour. The tour planners have conveniently skirted Florida on the last two tours. They'll probably do Europe next year.Darryl & Co: If you're hiring, I can take some night courses and become a Social Media Guru. I've been known to pose as a Thought Leader in the Interactive Space. But when I go on the road, I'd like to blog a cross-country Amtrak nightmare.

Have SWAG, Will Blog

I'm a cheap slut if you give me stuff.

I guess that really makes me a dirty whore, but the fine folks at Plaid sent me an email last week asking if I'd blog about their upcoming West Coast Tour in exchange for some Plaidness. Plaidness arrived today in the form of a lime green T and a cool little button, along with a nice card begging me to blog about them. So here we go.

In seriousness, I blog about Plaid because they are an agency getting it right. They did this last year, and it was a bizarre success. After their East Coast Tour, I shamelessly asked Darryl if he'd hire me on as Plaid's Southeast Doer of Whatever It Is I Do. Darryl graciously replied, "Dude. Uh. No."

Reason I'd gladly be a Plaid Head is that they're not claiming to be Web 2.0 Social Media Gurus - even though they are. They aren't claiming to understand all there is to know about traditional media - even though they do. They are innovators - in a traditional way. And like Advance out of Denmark, or Th!nk here in Orlando, they are doing the agency blog thing in a way that isn't ruthless corporate huckstering. Read Brand Flakes for Breakfast. You'll rarely find a self-promoting post in that entertaining and educational blog.

I mean seriously - who piles a bunch of media pros into a rented van covered in branded plaid stickers and outfitted with three video cameras and high-speed wi-fi to traverse the country in an effort to drum up business and draw attention to their efforts? They'll have live video, a Twitter feed, an ever-growing Flickr set and updates from not just themselves, but the people they meet along the way. That is unique, daring and smart. To top it all off, Uncle Bill is a part of it, doubling the cool factor.

It almost inspires me to be daring enough to wear this lime green T.

Keep an eye on the Plaid Tour and learn a thing or two about advertising, business development and customer service. It's not only an education, it's a fun, real-time summer diversion.

If they're heading to your town (Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Redding, San Fran, San Luis Obispo, LA, San Diego, Vegas) get out and have a beer with them.

Cross Country Barnstorm Begins

The Plaid Van has hit the road, and it looks like it'll be an interesting ride. Part new business development journey, part client service outing, part transparent opening-up to the advertising community, the notion of a 21-day half-country trek in a strange looking vehicle reminds me of the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile. They're having some technical difficulties, but all in all, it seems to be moving along fairly successfully. The ride looks a little bouncy, but that van is huge, with plenty of room to stretch out and blog the journey.

And if I've done my research correctly, I might have an image here of Bill Green of Make the Logo Bigger. Can't be sure until he shows up here to comment. In fact, he might be commenting right here in this picture, as Bill is the holder of the Most Prolific Poster and Commenter Cup two years running. He's not exactly a Weinermobile babe, but he sports a well groomed dome. (It's always interesting the first time you see a radio host you've listened to for a while. Same applies to bloggers who've remained visually anonymous for a while.)

I will be curious to find out what sort of new biz was hatched from this trip and how the expense vs. results of the trip might compare to the ROI of say, a brand summit, a webinar or a speaking engagement. (Did I just say, "ROI?" I'm sorry for that. Really.)